Police: West Hartford Man Swore At, Threatened Woman Because She Is Muslim

CaptionA collection of Connecticut arrest photos

Arrest and booking photos are provided by law enforcement officials. Arrest does not imply guilt, and criminal charges are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and convicted.

Arrest and booking photos are provided by law enforcement officials. Arrest does not imply guilt, and criminal charges are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and convicted.

Dyshawn Silva, 18, of 152 Country Hills Road, Hamden, was charged with first-degree threatening, second-degree breach of peace and falsely reporting an incident after making a bomb threat at Hamden High School.

Dyshawn Silva, 18, of 152 Country Hills Road, Hamden, was charged with first-degree threatening, second-degree breach of peace and falsely reporting an incident after making a bomb threat at Hamden High School. (Hamden Police Department)

Left to right: John Erdman, Richard Sarpong and Raechelle Carmona were all charged by West Hartford police after Sarpong, a certified nursing assistant, hired a prostitute to come to the home of a client he was caring for.

Left to right: John Erdman, Richard Sarpong and Raechelle Carmona were all charged by West Hartford police after Sarpong, a certified nursing assistant, hired a prostitute to come to the home of a client he was caring for. (Courtesy of West Hartford Police Department)

The West Hartford man who police say unleashed a torrent of obscenities and anti-Muslim comments at a Muslim woman at the Bishops Corner Walgreens pharmacy continued his tirade at police headquarters, according to a police report.

Michael J. Germain, 68, of 725 Mountain Road, is accused of hate crimes, second-degree breach of peace and second-degree threatening for using anti-Muslim terms toward the woman and for threatening to punch her. He was released without having to post bail and is due at Superior Court in Hartford on Sept. 27.

The woman he is accused of threatening and berating, a nurse at a Hartford hospital who is originally from Somalia, said Monday that she did not want Germain to be jailed.

“I forgive him,” she said. “I hope he gets help. I don’t have any hate for anybody.”

The incident, police said, began about 3:45 p.m. Saturday when the woman quickly glanced at Germain as she stepped away from the pharmacy counter at Walgreens, 324 N. Main St. Germain had told the clerk to hurry up, the woman said.

The woman told police that Germain swore at her and threatened to punch her. An employee told police she heard Germain swear at the woman and say, “Muslim.” Germain told the employee, according to an arrest report, that he was upset that “Americans got killed in the embassy.”

When confronted by the store manager, Germain continued swearing at the woman, according to the police report.

When police went to his house a few minutes later, Germain said he had been in a confrontation with an “Arab” woman. When police asked him what he had said, Germain responded that he had only called her a “camel jockey” and a “rag head.” He repeated to police that he was upset about Americans dying overseas “by them.” Asked what he had meant by “them,” Germain responded, “Muslims,” according to the police report.

Police took Germain into custody and handcuffed him. He screamed about the handcuffs being too tight at his home and from the back of a patrol car as he was driven to police headquarters. Police said that they checked the cuffs several times and that they were not tight.

As police booked Germain, he continued to make anti-Muslim and disparaging comments about the woman. When asked what his religious preference was for a booking form, Germain responded, “None. I just don’t like Muslim.”

When a sergeant tried to explain to Germain that he couldn’t talk to people that way, he responded, “I did not threaten to punch her. I called her a rag head because I totally dislike Muslims.”

The woman, who asked not to be identified because she continues to fear Germain, said she was shaken and crying after the incident. In her 25 years in the United States, she said she has never experienced any anti-Muslim bias.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I said, ‘What happened? Where’s this coming from?’” she said. “He said, ‘I will punch you.’” Germain’s language was vulgar, she said. “I can’t even repeat the words.” The woman was not hurt.

Germain did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked the FBI to consider federal charges against Germain.

In hope of spurring leads, the Connecticut Department of Corrections has released decks of cards highlighting cold cases. Each card features an unsolved crime. Read the full story at Courant.com And see more cold case stories on CTnow.com

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